Has anyone any idea when this operation was switched to Mascot.
I don't know about a permanent switch to Mascot. Maybe around 1951. However there were several occasions when the Hudson or DC3 flew from Camden to Mascot as a positioning flight before newspaper services to Dubbo.
I was working as a general hand (age 17) at the Camden base and flew as a second dicky to Mascot with Dick Cruickshanks. The real first officer arrived later for the actual newspaper flight. That short trip was one of the greatest thrills in my budding aviation career. On 1 January 1950 another Herald Hudson crashed shortly after take off at Camden. It was a dark night and the cause was thought to be an engine failure. Dick Cruickshanks and his second pilot Bruce Purvis were killed.
Some years after the Herald closed down, it was decided to give it one more go and I believe that was from Mascot around 1953 I think. The aircraft was a Hudson VH-SML. The captain was Doug Swain DFC who was the previous Flight Superintendant under the manager Captain Harry Purvis AFC.
The aircraft was not cleared legally for IFR and on the very first flight which was to Taree (?), the aircraft dispappeared. Many months later the wreckage was located in the Barrington Tops ranges. Weather on the day of the flight was low cloud in that area and it seemed the pilot tried to scud run to stay visual under low cloud and hit the hills. That was the end of the Herald Flying Services I think.